Reopening of Notre Dame draws near five years after the fire

The Notre-Dame cathedral is almost finished being fixed after a big fire five years ago. People all over the world are watching Paris because of the Olympic Games.

The cathedral’s roof caught fire on the evening of April 15, 2019. Before long, it had surrounded the tall pointed top of the building and nearly made the main bell towers fall over. People all over the world watched in shock as the old building caught on fire.

Macron’s last time as president will end in 2027. He wants to fix the cathedral to make people in the country feel better and to make people like his government more.

“The Olympic and Paralympic Games only happen once in a hundred years, and rebuilding a cathedral like this only happens once in a thousand years,” Macron said in his speech for the New Year in 2024.

It is still not known what exactly started the fire. French officials think that an electrical problem or a cigarette that started a fire might be the cause.

“A firefighter warned me to look at the front of the building because if we can’t put out the fire, it will be destroyed,” said Patrick Chauvet, the former head priest of Notre-Dame.

The outside of the building stayed together, but it took five years of hard work to fix all the damage and make it strong again.

The people working on the project are proud of their work.

“This is the biggest construction job I’ve ever done, because fixing a whole monument in all its three dimensions is really amazing,” Emma Roux, a craftsperson working on the famous stained glass windows, said.

The reopening is planned for December, and it’s on track to happen on time, according to the person in charge of the project.

“We are doing what we planned and spending the money we have,” Philippe Jost said at a meeting in the Senate last month. Jost told the government that the project cost 550 million euros ($80,542 million) and got some money from big donations, including from rich people in the luxury industry. He said that a lot of money has been donated and there will be extra money left to invest in the building.

“We have 150 million euros to fix the cathedral and problems with the outside stone. We need our sponsors’ approval first. “

Jost, who is 63 years old and has a background in engineering, recently started a new job. He took over from General Jean-Louis Georgelin who passed away in a hiking accident in August 2023.